In the eye of storm number 5: A warm place of compatriots, a confusing place to make money

Working together for the community

At noon on August 28, hundreds of people with clothes still covered in mud, dirt, and sweat were present at a restaurant on Mai Hac De Street (Vinh Hung Ward, Nghe An Province). They were environmental workers and soldiers on duty to clean up the streets and fix problems after storm No. 5 in Vinh City (old).

Seeing their shadow, the elderly couple immediately went to the front of the store, welcoming them warmly like honored guests. They were Mr. Le Van Hong (67 years old), owner of Minh Hong wedding restaurant.

Mr. Le Van Hong (standing) visits soldiers. Photo: Tien Hung

“This afternoon, the restaurant invited 270 people to lunch, in addition to the environmental sanitation workers like yesterday, there were also 50 soldiers on duty to repair the roads after the storm,” Mr. Hong said with a smile. The entire meal was free of charge at the restaurant. Although free, according to the reporter’s observations, these meals were quite sumptuous, including fried chicken with fish sauce, stir-fried oysters, veal, braised snails, field crab soup, fish sauce, stir-fried cabbage, etc. In addition, there were bananas for dessert and soft drinks.

Hundreds of sanitation workers and soldiers happily enjoyed a warm and filling lunch at Mr. Le Van Hong's restaurant. Video : Tien Hung.

Mr. Hong said that after storm No. 5 swept through, his restaurant was carefully secured so there was no damage. However, after walking around the area, he witnessed roads and trees broken and fallen, causing traffic jams.

“Looking at the chaotic streets, I could imagine how terrible the work of those in charge of cleaning up was. The storm made it difficult to find a place to eat and drink. Therefore, I immediately announced on social media that any units cleaning the streets, if they needed food or drink, could contact me,” said Mr. Hong.

Free lunch for street cleaners at noon on August 28 at Minh Hong restaurant. Photo: Tien Hung

On the morning of August 27, after receiving a call for support, Mr. Hong immediately assigned his staff to prepare 220 meals for environmental workers. Many workers could not hide their joy after a hard day's work, when they were able to eat free meals at a luxury restaurant.

“Normally, we only dare to eat out; we even order food right in the middle of the street. So when the leader announced that we would be eating at a fancy restaurant today, everyone was surprised,” a female environmental worker said excitedly. During the meal, everyone’s laughter and questions about whether the streets had been restored to their green, clean, and beautiful state seemed to dispel fatigue.

Minh Hong restaurant owner said that the restaurant will continue to support meals until August 29. “On August 27, we invited 220 lunches, on August 28, 270, and on August 29, they ordered 450 meals, a total of nearly 1,000 meals. Each meal like that, on a normal day at the restaurant costs 170,000 VND. Although some foods are a bit scarce at the moment, my family wants to contribute a little bit with everyone, to soon overcome the difficulties caused by natural disasters," Mr. Hong shared.

Although free, the meal was full and quite hearty. Photo: Tien Hung

In addition to Mr. Hong and his wife, in recent days, many people and businesses have joined hands to share in the natural disaster, making the solidarity between people become warmer.

There are volunteer groups like the “Pot of Loving Porridge” Club that quietly help environmental workers clean up the streets at night. Families with generators prepare free drinking water and invite people to charge their electrical devices during the days of power outages after the storm.

There are also hotel owners who are concerned about the safety of students staying in fragile boarding houses before the storm. That is the case of the hotel owner on Tran Phu Street (Thanh Vinh Ward), who before the storm welcomed many students to the hotel for shelter, free meals, and together they overcame the natural disaster...

The "incomprehensible" price increases

While many people join hands to share in the disaster, there are also some shop and restaurant owners who take advantage of the disaster to increase prices. For example, a restaurant in Vinh Phu ward sold hundreds of meals at surprising prices to power workers who were on duty to restore the power grid after the storm. The modest meal only included white rice, stir-fried cabbage, a little braised meat and 2 pieces of ham, but the price was up to 130,000 VND!

The meal was ordered for 130,000 VND. Photo: Provided by Nghe An Electricity Company

Specifically, according to a representative of Nghe An Electricity Company, after storm No. 5, all officers and employees of the Electricity industry had to focus on fixing the power problem, so the unit ordered meals to eat right at the scene, to save travel time. On August 26, the company's administrative staff went to Thuy Linh restaurant (Vinh Phu ward) to order 230 meals for dinner on August 26, priced at VND130,000/meal and 310 meals for August 27.

On the evening of August 26, the restaurant delivered the first meals. The power company did not open them for inspection but instead brought them to the site where the power grid was being repaired for the staff to eat. When the restaurant delivered the next meals to the power company, an officer opened the meals to check and discovered that the meals were too modest.

"We found each serving of 130,000 VND expensive and did not meet the requirements for employees to eat and ensure their health, so we reported it to the restaurant," Nghe An Electricity informed.

Immediately afterwards, the image of the meal was also posted on social media with angry comments that the restaurant was “ripping off customers”. The image of the meal quickly spread, causing a stir in public opinion.

To save travel time and quickly fix the problem, the workers of the Electricity industry ate lunch right at the scene. Photo: Thanh Chung

Representatives of Nghe An Electricity Company later also came to discuss directly with the restaurant. At this time, the restaurant owner explained that due to the storm, food was scarce, only a small amount could be purchased, and at the same time admitted that the meal did not meet the requirements.

“We ordered 130,000 VND/meal, if they could not meet the requirements with the price, they should have notified us. But they remained silent, selling each meal for 130,000 VND. On the morning of August 27, I asked the restaurant to issue an invoice for payment. Initially, they agreed to issue an invoice, but by noon the restaurant informed us that they would reduce the price to 60,000 VND per meal. By the afternoon of August 27, the restaurant informed the Electricity Department that those meals would be free,” said a representative of Nghe An Electricity Company, adding that the company did not accept the restaurant’s offer of free meals, but requested that they issue an invoice with the correct value of the meals provided for payment.

Currently, the restaurant has not collected payment for the meals provided. The contract to order meals for the following days has also been canceled and transferred to another restaurant.

“The company's leadership believes that employees who fix problems all day are very tired, so we need to buy each meal for 130,000 VND to ensure their health. When we order meals, we pay for them, there is no such thing as free meals from restaurants. If the restaurant does not charge money, it should be clear from the beginning. Up to now, we still do not know if those meals cost 130,000 VND or 60,000 VND," the company said.

Speaking to the press, the restaurant owner admitted that the meal ordered by Nghe An Electricity Company cost 130,000 VND because the food was expensive.

The gas stove that Mr. Binh bought for 850,000 VND. Photo: Tien Hung

Not only this restaurant, some stores also show signs of taking advantage of the storm to increase prices. One example is the case of the owner of a gas stove store on Le Loi Street (Vinh Hung Ward). Mr. Nguyen Xuan Binh (25 years old), said that before storm No. 5 hit, to prevent power outages, on the morning of August 25, he went to this store to buy a mini gas stove. “I have never bought a gas stove before, and I did not carefully research the price before buying. When I chose a mini gas stove, the store owner said the price was 850,000 VND, so I did not doubt it and paid right away. In addition, I bought 5 more gas cylinders, each cylinder costing 40,000 VND, for a total of more than 1 million VND,” Mr. Binh said.

However, after returning home, Mr. Binh was criticized by his relatives for buying too expensive. At this time, he went online to consult and was surprised to know that the market price on the internet was only 230,000 VND. The gas tank was also much cheaper than what he bought.

“Business must be profitable, but I did not expect them to charge such high prices. I am really sad because in difficult circumstances due to natural disasters, instead of sharing and supporting each other, there are places that take advantage of the situation to inflate prices to too high levels, so I share the story to make people more vigilant when shopping in emergency situations. And I also hope that stores put their heart first, especially in difficult times, so that customers' trust is not lost,” said Mr. Binh.

Speaking to reporters, the owner of this gas stove store admitted that he sold the goods to Mr. Binh at this price. “Because there was no stock that day, we had to import goods at a high price. Because there was no stock, we had to go from place to place to find it,” the store owner explained. However, when asked about the import price as well as the price of this type of gas stove on the market on normal days, the store owner refused to disclose.

Overcoming the consequences of storm No. 5 and natural disasters is urgent and we need to share and support each other in times of trouble and difficulty.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/trong-tam-bao-so-5-noi-am-ap-nghia-dong-bao-cho-kiem-tien-kho-hieu-10305418.html